The Real Amazing Spider-Man
by The Girl of Many Words
Summary: What if I were to tell you that the comic books and movies about Spider-man were all wrong? That really and truly, Peter Parker was orphaned at an age too young to remember and gained his spider abilities from human experimentation? Well, you would probably call me crazy. I'm here to tell you that everything you think you know is wrong. I am Peter Parker, and this is my true story.
1. Prologue

**Hello! This is my second fan fiction! It's not a crossover, but I hope you like it. Please, please, please review! It gives me inspiration and helps me to know how I'm doing. Anyway, here's my story. Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Spider-man except this fan fiction. **

**Prologue**

There was a knock on the door. The young boy sitting in the middle of the white room set down down his book and looked up. A man wearing a long lab coat pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Hello, Peter," he said. "How are you feeling today?"

Peter just stared at the scientist, ignoring him. The man sighed and shut the door. He walked over to Peter and squatted down next to him. Peter said nothing as he checked his pulse, then proceeded to ask Peter to lift his arms. Peter did as he was told; he was used to this. He had been poked and prodded for as long as he could remember. The scientist lifted Peter's shirt up and ran his hand along the boy's side. There were two fist-sized bumps on either side of his rib cage. The man pulled a syringe from his coat pocket and, after removing the cap with his teeth, pushed the small needle into Peter's hip. The boy winced but did not otherwise move. After removing and recapping the syringe, the man dropped Peter's shirt.

"That should do it," he mumbled. He saw the book on the ground. "What book have you been reading?"

"_A Brief History of Time _by Steven Hawking." Peter replied, picked the book up.

The scientist smiled, glad to know that the nine-year-old boy had the scientific influence that he had, and stood. He held out his hand.

"May I have it?" he asked.

Peter glared at him, then handed it over. The man walked over to the door, opened it, and placed the book on the top.

"Now, get the book," he said, crossing his arms.

Peter knew what he was asking, but he didn't want to.

"Peter, get the book, or would you like to be deprived of food until you do?"

He scowled at the scientist, then grudgingly aimed at the book with his wrist. A thin white string of silk shot from Peter's wrist and attached itself to the book. Peter pulled the spider silk back as quickly as it had been released, dropping his book in his hands.

"Happy?" he asked.

**And, there you go! Hope you liked it! Also, whoever can correctly tell me what the bumps on Peter's sides were, they get their name put in this story. So y'all better get to thinking. Review, please! Anyway, bye! I will update soon! :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Alrighty, chapter 1! Glad to know I caught a few people's attention and managed to make a good enough fan fiction for y'all to read. Thank you for reading the prologue and finding interest in it! I just hope that my first chapter proves to hold y'all's attention. Disclaimer: Though I am writing this fan fic, I don't own the Spider-man comics or movies, sadly. **

**By the way, the winner of my contest is Remnant of the Thirteen Primes. So you can either give me a review with your first name or a name that you want me to use at some point in this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

I opened my eyes, blinking in an attempt to see through the ash. Everything was gray, except for the small remnants of the fire here and there. I started coughing as I sat up. The smoke had gotten to me.

_I need to got out of here, _I thought. _Wherever here is._

I pushed myself to my feet, my aching muscles screaming in protest. Why was I so sore? That was just one of the questions buzzing in my head. Buzzing . . . there was in fact a buzzing noise in the back of my mind, almost nagging. Just as I was about to disregard it as dizziness, it grew more urgent. And suddenly a large metal beam fell next to me, right where I was standing a split second earlier. It had happened so fast that I hadn't even realized that I had rolled out of the way.

_Strange. _I thought.

I looked around and tried to find a way out of the unstable building. My eyes scanned every surface until I saw a light that I knew wasn't a fire. I ran for it, jumping over every obstacle in my path. But just as I got to the door, a ceiling support fell, covering the doorway. I needed to get out of here, and a stupid beam wouldn't get in my way. Crouching down, I gripped the bottom of the support beam, then lifted. My arms still ached, but I had yet to know what made them so sore. I dropped the beam next to the wall and ran out. I wasn't sure where to go. I was in the middle of some forest, the remains of the burning building behind me.

"Peter," a voice said.

I turned around. A man wearing a singed lab coat was trying to crawl towards the doorway I had just walked out of.

"Peter, help me," he said.

He looked familiar, and I was tempted to help him, but something made me instinctively hate him.

"Please, I know there's good in you. Probably more than us. Please, help an old scientist."

I stiffened. Something about that word, scientist, made me even angrier. I turned my back on him and ran. His voice drifted to my ears until I was too far away to hear anything from the destroyed facility. I slowly stopped running; I was getting extremely worn out. With a quick glance around, I realized that my surroundings were completely foreign. I found a log and sat, wanting to get some rest. Soon I had fallen asleep. It wasn't until I was being awakened that I realized it. A girl with fire-red hair was looming over me, a look of concern on her face.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked.

I pushed myself off the log and stretched, cringing.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I replied. My voice sounded rough, as if I hadn't used it in a while.

The girl looked at my arm, then reached forward and grabbed it.

"Is that blood?"

I looked over at my arm. Horrific burns covered about half of my arm and, as I inspected closer, my back as well.

"You're not okay," she said. "My car's not very far. I can take you to the hospital."

"No," I said before really thinking. I didn't know why but the idea of going to a hospital didn't sound like a good one.

"No? These burns look really bad. You need a doctor."

She pulled me to my feet without allowing me to say a reply. I noticed that she was wearing a backpack and held a water bottle in one hand. I could only guess she had been hiking.

"My name's Mary Jane," she said. "Yours?"

"Peter."

She nodded and began walking. I following next to her.

"You thirsty?"

Mary Jane offered the unopened bottle to me.

"Thanks," I said, taking it.

"So how did you get burned so badly?"

A memory flashed through my head. Me in a smoke-filled room; fire lapping the threshold that lead from my room; me jumping over the fire. It disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

"There was a fire where I lived," I started. "The only way I could get out was to jump over the fire that blocked the door."

"What about a window?"

"There weren't any windows in my room."

"Oh . . . How'd you get all the way out here?"

"I ran."

Mary Jane glanced sideways at me, brow furrowed.

"Where exactly did you live?"

"Exactly? I don't know."

"What? How can you not know where you live?"

"To be honest, there isn't much I do know, except my name and a few hazy memories. I must have hit my head on something when I was trying to get out of the building."

"Hm, well, you can get your head checked out at the hospital, which you _are _going to. I won't let you just run around with burns like that."

A small smile tugged at my lips. I had a feeling that no one had really ever cared like this for me, much less a total stranger.

I was beginning to like this girl.

* * *

**So that was chapter 1. I know, there wasn't much action or anything, but what I mainly wanted to do was to show y'all Peter's predicament. Please review if you love me! (Or if you don't, I honestly don't care) I will update the second chapter ASAP. Goodbye my faithful readers! :)  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Don't worry! I will try my best to make this chapter more interesting than the last. So . . . I don't have much to say this time. Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-man comics or the movies. **

******P.S. (Because I that A/N is old) BOOM! How's that for posting a I'm-being-a-bad-author-note and then updating?! Oh, yeah, I'm awesome. Just go on, admit it. :) So, again, I apologize for waiting so long to update. School got in the way. Now, enough babbling on my part. Allons y!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Mary Jane continued to question me on the ride to the hospital until I made it known that I didn't want to answer any more.

"Sorry," she said. "You're just . . . an interesting person. I mean, it's not like I've ever met anyone with virtually no memory who lived in the woods."

"I'm more interesting than you know," I mumbled, not knowing what made me so interesting, but knowing it was true.

"Oh really? And what makes you so interesting?"

I hadn't thought that I had spoken loud enough for her to hear me. I shook my head.

"I'm just . . . different."

She nodded. We continued on to the hospital in silence until Mary Jane spoke.

"We're almost to the hospital."

I didn't reply; my thoughts were focused on the growing pain in my sides. I knew that my sides hadn't been burned, so I had no idea why I hurt. Mary Jane stopped driving and parked her car by the emergency room entrance. She glanced over at me before opening her door.

"Do you need any help?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine."

I pushed open the car door and stepped out. I ran my hand over the right side of my torso, feeling the faintest traces of three bumps. Strange, but I disregarded the oddity. There were more pressing matters at hand, like the burns on my arm and back. We walked into the emergency room, Mary Jane in front of me. She stopped at a window where a nurse was sitting, typing away at a computer. She glanced up at us.

"Hello, sweetie, what brings you here?" she asked.

"Well, my friend here was in a fire, and he was pretty badly burned," Mary Jane replied.

She took my uninjured arm and pulled me forward when she said 'my friend'.

"A fire?" the nurse asked. "There was no news of any fire. Anyway, fill this out, and you and your friend can go sit over at that bed and wait for a doctor."

Mary Jane took the clipboard from the nurse and steered me towards the bed she had indicated. I sat down on the bed, and Mary Jane sat in the chair, filling out the paper on the clipboard and occasionally asking me questions from the paper. Finally, she sighed.

"You know, it would be a lot easier if you just filled this out," she said handing it to me.

I took it from her and began filling out every piece of information that I knew. When I was finished, I set the clipboard down at the foot of the bed. Then we waited. I suddenly felt that buzzing in the back of my mind again.

"The doctor's coming," I told Mary Jane without thinking.

"Huh?" she said.

A second later, a man wearing blue scrubs and a white lab coat walked up. He didn't look too much older than me and Mary Jane.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Cartwright," he said with a smile and a wink at Mary Jane.

She stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, what's the problem?"

I turned around so that the doctor could see both my back and the back of my arm. He whistled.

"Oh, wow. I'd have to say those are third degree. How'd you get burned?"

"I was in a fire," I said, turning back around.

"Naw, really? I could'a swore those were third degree carpet burns," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "Details please. By the way, what's your name?"

"Peter Parker."

"IAN!"

Dr. Cartwright turned around.

"What are you doing?!" demanded the same female voice.

"That's my cue. Gotta scat. See you at school, MJ. Nice meeting you, Peter."

And with that he ran off. I looked up at Mary Jane.

"Who was that?"

"Ian Cartwright. He's in a majority of my classes at Midtown High School. His mom's a doctor, and he always comes here after school. His mom used to bring him all the time when he was younger, so he probably knows enough to correctly diagnose a good bit of diseases."

"You seem to know him well."

She shrugged her shoulders. "We're just friends."

Another doctor walked up to the bed.

"I apologize for Ian. I'm the _real _Dr. Cartwright. Your name?"

"Peter Parker."

Dr. Cartwright picked up the clipboard that held the paper I had filled out. She knit her eyebrows together.

"So, Peter, are you allergic to anything?" she asked.

"Uh . . . " I thought for a second.

_" . . . Perfect health. Not even a single allergy. He'll be the perfect specimen."_

I winced at the word. I had begun to wish my memories would stay gone.

"No, nothing."

"Alright. Are you taking any medications?"

I waited for a memory to come back, but when nothing happened, and I had decided saying that I didn't know would sound unusual, I replied: "No, ma'am."

"Okay. So, what's the problem?"

"Third degree burns, as your son said."

"I'll want to check, just to be sure. Where are they?"

"My back and arm."

I turned back around to show her.

"Yep. Third degree alright." I swiveled around to look at her. "What happened?"

"There was a fire where I lived. I had to get out of my room, but there was fire blocking my path, so I had to jump over it."

"I found him asleep on some log in the woods," Mary Jane interjected.

"A log? I might need to take some blood to check for infection."

"No," I immediately said. I wasn't sure why it would be a bad idea, I just _knew. _

"No? But we need to know if you caught some infection from an open wound being exposed to -."

"You need my consent, correct?"

She seemed taken aback by my abrupt rudeness. "Well, yes."

"I don't consent."

Dr. Cartwright stood for a moment as if wanting to argue, but knowing she couldn't change my mind. "Alright. I'll go get one of my interns to patch you up."

She walked away and left me and Mary Jane alone.

"Why won't you let her take your blood?" Mary Jane asked.

"Because . . . It would be a bad idea," I replied.

She snorted. "That's real informative. _Why _would it be a bad idea?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. It just would."

"Nice."

We sat in silence, waiting for the other doctor. When he finally came, he began to bandage me in silence. Until . . . .

"What'd you run away for, Peter?" he whispered into my ear.

I stiffened. That voice was so familiar.

"Why didn't you stay with the building and help the scientists get out like a good little boy? Why did you run like the escaped lab rat you are?"

I abruptly stood and grabbed Mary Jane's arm, pulling her to her feet.

"Peter, what's -."

"We're leaving."

And before either Mary Jane or the man that seemed achingly _familiar _could react, I ran out of the hospital with Mary Jane in tow.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hallo, my faithful readers! Y'all having a good summer so far? i hope so! Please forgive me for not updating in soooo long! But, at least I haven't forgotten about y'all. So, here we go!  
**

**And to Uberscribbler: No, Peter is not hearing voices. I might not have made it obvious enough, and I apologize for that, but Peter was remembering something that had happened in his past. Just think of a time when you're remembering something and you hear it almost clear as day; that was what was happening. Sorry I didn't explicitly say it! **

**And lastly, please review or private message me about what you like, what you don't like, and what you want to see! I could always have some help with my story here. Now, enough of my ramblings! **

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"What the _heck_ was that, Peter?" Mary Jane demanded.

I had convinced her to leave the hospital when we ran out, and she had driven in silence until that question.

"Well?"

"That man," I said. "He recognized me."

"Why is that a bad thing?"

I paused, wondering whether or not I should tell her. "He asked me why I ran, why I didn't stay and help the other scientists get out of the building. Then he said, 'Why did you run like the lab rat you are?'" I finally said.

"What? Lab rat? What did he mean by that?"

I dropped my head into my hand, then ran my fingers through my hair. "I _don't _know. That is what's bugging me. And he seemed so very familiar."

"It must really suck not having memories."

"You don't know the half of it. Where are we going, by the way?"

"My house."

"_Your _house?"

"Where else do you think we should go? Yours?" She looked over at me with a smile on her face.

"Very funny," I said sarcastically.

"Besides, my dad went on some trip for work that's going to take about two weeks, and Mom decided to tag along. So I've got the house to myself, and we have a guest bedroom. Who knows, maybe you'll get your memories back in two weeks, and you can be on your way before my parents get back and start asking awkward questions."

"If only everything were so simple."

We continued on in silence until Mary Jane asked _another _question. She had almost started to annoy me with her constant questioning.

"Isn't human experimentation illegal?" she asked.

"Yes, why?" I replied, sounding somewhat exasperated.

"Well, in a lab, scientists usually experiment on rats, right?"

"Yes . . ."

"The man in the hospital called you a lab rat."

It was more of a statement, but I answered in the affirmative anyway. Mary Jane nodded, obviously thinking about every little last detail I had told her.

"You're thinking that I was experimented on in some secret lab in the woods, aren't you?" I asked sceptical.

"It makes sense if you think about it," she defended.

"Do you really think that someone would do that? Who in their right mind would want to inflict that kind of pain on someone?"

She paused. "I didn't say anything about pain. That was all you."

My brows furrowed. "Do you think that human experimentation would be painless?"

"How would I know? I've never been experimented on. But you, on the other hand -."

"Could we just drop it?" I interrupted.

Mary Jane shut her mouth. To be honest, though, there was a shadow of a doubt in my mind that what she was saying was true. Probably more than just a shadow.

The car slowed, and I looked up to see a small pleasant-looking house. Mary Jane parked her car in the driveway and killed the engine. I followed her as she walked to the front door and unlocked it.

"This is it, home sweet home," she said. "Kitchen's over there, living room through that door. The guest bedroom is upstairs, first door on the right, and the bathroom is just across the hall. You can probably borrow some of my dad's old clothes that he hasn't gotten around to throwing away. I doubt he'll notice."

"Thank you, Mary Jane," I said.

"Your welcome, and you don't have to call me Mary Jane. You can just call me MJ; it's what most of my friends call me."

"Alright then, MJ."

She smiled, then headed towards the living room. I followed.

"You can wait here while I get some of Dad's clothes," she said. "Make yourself at home."

I nodded and sat down on the couch. MJ walked into what I presumed to be her parent's room. I looked around the room and saw a bookcase. Wanting something to occupy my time, I walked over to the bookcase and began skimming over the titles. Mostly Christian fiction. I frowned.

"Hey, MJ, does your dad have any scientific novels or articles?" I called out.

"No," she replied. "My dad wouldn't touch anything like that even if it had a thousand dollars in it. He says that all of them are filled with crap about evolution and how the earth is millions upon billions of years old and how all scientists claim evolution is the truth. Why do you ask?"

I shrugged, though she wasn't there to see. "It's just what I read. Besides, not all scientists believe evolution, and not all scientific writings are filled with things about that."

MJ came back into the living room with a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt in her hands.

"Oh, so you remember that much?" she said, a smirk on her face.

I knit my eyebrows together.

_"What book have you been reading?" _

_"_A Brief History of Time_ by Steven Hawking." I replied.  
_

_He smiled.  
_

_"May I have it?" he asked._

_I glared at him, then handed it over. The man walked over to the door, opened it, and placed the book on the top._

_"Now, get the book," he said._

_ I only sat.  
_

_"Peter, get the book, or would you like to be deprived of food until you do?"_

_I scowled at the scientist, then grudgingly aimed at the book with my wrist. A thin white string of silk shot from my wrist and attached itself to the book. I pulled the spider silk back as quickly as it had been released, dropping my book in my hands._

_"Happy?" I asked. _

"Peter?" MJ asked.

I jumped, coming out of the trance. MJ was looking at me with concern in her eyes. I looked down at my wrists; with a start, I realized that a splatter-shaped circle was on each of my wrists, both almost white against my tan skin. MJ noticed me glance down and looked as well. She reached for my wrist with her free hand.

"What's that?" she asked.

I jerked my hand away from her. She looked back up at me, startled.

"Are you okay, Peter?" she asked.

I nodded. "Thanks for the clothes," I said taking them.

Before she could protest, I went up the stairs and locked myself in the bathroom and dropped the clothes on the toilet top. I leaned against the sink and stared at the white spots on my wrists in which _spider silk _had issued forth. I tried in vain to remember exactly how I had done it in the memory, but it had been so fuzzy. Why did I have to have no memories except the two that had come back? How did I even lose my memory in the first place? It was all so frustrating. I so badly wanted to punch something, but I didn't want to damage MJ's bathroom. I took a deep breath to calm myself, then picked up the clothes and changed.  
When I finished, I heard MJ's voice calling up the stairs.

"Peter, are you hungry?" she asked. "I know it's a little late, but I can always make you something if you want."

"No, thank you, MJ. I'm just going to go on and go to bed."

"Oh, okay. Good night, then."

"Night."

I stepped into my room and shut the door. In all honesty, I was exhausted, it hadn't just been an excuse to not have to talk to MJ. I fell onto the bed and winced. My back and arm still hurt. I rolled over to my uninjured side and closed my eyes. Immediately I was asleep.

_"Are the restraints secure?" _

_"Yes, sir. But are you sure we should be doing this? He's only a child." _

_"It's all for the furthering of humanity. He'll thank us when he's a man." _

_I peeled my eyes open and looked at the two white coat clad men hovering over me. They didn't notice my glance towards them. One of the men, the older looking one, plucked a syringe from a silver tray and pulled a glass bottle from his coat pocket. It seemed as if time passed in my blink. The man was then leaning over me with a full syringe in his hand. He stuck the needle in my shoulder. A whimpering noise escaped my lips as the contents of the syringe burned its way into my veins. A constant beeping noise in the background suddenly sped up: a heart rate monitor. I started hyperventilating as a pain spread through my whole body. I began convulsing and screamed as the pain became unbearable._

"Peter!"

I woke with a start and a yell. MJ was standing over me, eyes wide with fear and concern. I took a few shaky breaths to try to calm down, but the dream was still fresh in my mind.

"I-I heard you screaming and came t-to see if you were alright," she mumbled. "_Are _you alright?"

I didn't reply. I wasn't entirely sure if I was alright, but I couldn't worry MJ. "Y-yes. I'm alright. You can go back to bed, MJ. Don't worry about me."

I tried for a smile, but only managed a grimace. MJ pursed her lips, clearly not believing me.

"Fine. But if I hear you screaming again in the middle of the night, I _will_ make you tell me what's going on."

And with those pleasant words, MJ left me to my own disturbed thoughts.

* * *

**My, my, what's wrong with our poor, beloved Peter? What on earth did those wicked scientists do to our friendly neighborhood spider-man? Gracious me oh my, this is going to be interesting. Ooooo, I can't wait to let y'all know what happened, but I must pace myself. So I know that y'all want to know, but all in good time, good readers. Till next time, **

**- The Girl of Many Words**


	5. Chapter 4

**PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I am sooooo sorry, you guys, but school and life got in the way of things and I just now got a chance to update! Please don't feel abandoned, I will not forget all of you. This story is much too awesome for me to forget about! I hope this update is good enough for how long it's taken me. Review or private message, por favor!  
**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stan Lee. **

* * *

**Chapter 4  
**

MJ was singing loud enough to wake me up all the way upstairs. I rolled over and sat up in bed feeling a dull throb in my shoulder and back. I stood and began making my way downstairs. MJ's singing gradually got louder, and I started deciphering her words.

"And sings my soul, my saviour God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art."

I stepped into the kitchen.

"Morning, Peter," she said in a too cheerful voice for so early in the morning.

"Morning," I replied in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"You aren't a vegetarian, are you?"

"If I am, I wouldn't know. Why?"

"I'm cooking eggs and bacon."

I sat down at the bar. "That doesn't sound repulsive, so I think I'm good. Besides, remembering whether or not I'm a vegetarian is the least of my worries."

MJ smiled and set a plate down in front of me.

"What'cha want to drink?" she asked.

"Water's fine."

She placed a glass down near my plate, then sat down next to me with her own food.

"So," she started. "How would you feel about going to school today with me?"

I contemplated that. It wasn't as if I would mind going to school, it was more of if I would be able to. After all, what school would accept a random student with no documentation whatsoever? I voiced my thoughts to MJ.

"Well, that could be a problem," she mumbled twirling her fork. "But I'm sure we can just have you as a visitor today who's just going to classes with me to see if you want to go to Midtown High. It's a Friday, so we can just spend some time on the computer this week-end trying to find some documentation on the Internet. Sound good?"

I nodded, a piece of bacon halfway in my mouth, thinking. What would school be like? Had I even ever been to school? So many questions like those ran through my head. I had to have had some form of schooling or education in my life or else I would be a complete moron who couldn't formulate sentences, much less ones that involve a vocabulary that most people didn't use.

"You've got a deep thinking look on your face," MJ said pulling me from my thoughts. "What's running through that mind of yours?"

I shook my head, a smile forming. "A lot," I simply replied. "Too much to put into words."

MJ set her chin in her hand. "Try me. I'm all ears."

"Well, I'm just wondering what school is going to be like. I don't even know if I've ever been to a school, or if I was home schooled. But I must have had some form of education in my life."

"Yeah, you seem too smart to have not been in school at some point. Besides, I'm pretty sure there's a law against kids not going to school."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." MJ glanced over at the clock on the stove before shooting up out of her chair. "Oh my gosh, we're going to be late!"

She hurriedly scooped up our plates and dumped them in the sink then ran for her room only to run out seconds later.

"I should get you some clothes," she said.

"That would help just a bit," I said standing.

MJ came running out with clothes in her arms and dropped them in mine.

"Alright, I'm gonna go change, and then we'll be off."

She ran back to her room. I smiled and jogged up the stairs to my own. When I got dressed, I made my way back downstairs.

"MJ, are you done getting ready?" I called out.

"Yeah, give me a sec, Peter!"

Literally a second later she was in the living room with a tube of mascara in one hand with her purse around her wrist and her backpack in the other hand.

"Could you grab my keys off the key ring, please?" she asked.

"Yeah."

I plucked the keys from the ring and opened the door. MJ walked through as she was opening the mascara.

"Would you mind unlocking the car? I've got my hands a bit full."

With a smile I did as was asked and opened the car door for her. MJ smiled and slipped into the driver's seat.

"Thank you."

When I got into the passenger seat, MJ dropped her backpack into my lap along with her purse. She started the car and pulled down the mirror. Somehow she managed to pull out of the driveway and put her mascara on.

"You've got some talent, MJ," I said.

"I know," she said with her mouth somewhat open in concentration.

Once she was done both the mascara and the mirror were put up.

"Alrighty, now that that's done, how do I look?" she asked.

"Fine," I replied.

"_Fine_? Really, Peter? I just look fine?"

"No, y-you look great, MJ," I stammered.

MJ smiled. "I'm just picking with you. Obviously your dad never thought it important to teach you how to talk to a lady."

"Yeah, the scientists were only concerned about my mathematical and scientific education rather than social skills," I said without knowing what was coming out of my mouth.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What scientists?"

"I said nothing about any scientists . . . Right?"

"No, you said that the scientists only taught you math and science and not social skills."

I hesitated. Somewhere in the back of my mind, something told me that statement was true. But I didn't want to admit it.

"Why would I say that?" I countered in a voice that sounded even less confident than I felt about what I was saying.

MJ shot me a look before averting her eyes back to the road. "My theory is starting to sound right."

I silently ended the conversation after that. She was right, and I knew it, just at the time I didn't know how right she was. We continued the drive in silence, me thinking about the few things I had remembered. None of it made sense . . . until you added MJ's lovely theory. The specimen comment, the spider silk from my wrists, and the dream about the scientists injecting _something _into me. Human experimentation made sense, but the idea of it was too horrific. I wondered what MJ was thinking and was about to ask her when the car slowed to a stop. MJ killed the car, then took her things from their place in my lap.

"C'mon, Peter," she said.

I climbed out of the car and followed MJ towards the school. I hesitated at first. There were so many people, many more than I was used to.

"Peter, are you okay?" MJ asked.

"Uh, yeah, it's just . . . there are too many people."

MJ pursed her lips, then hooked her arm through mine and began walking towards the building.

"You'll be fine, Pete. It's just school."

People bumped into me everywhere; the tingling I felt in the back of my mind at the hospital wouldn't stop. The best way I can describe it is sensory overload. Things went by in a blur, and suddenly MJ and I were in the school office. She finally unhooked her arm from mine and strode up to the front desk.

"Hey, I brought a visitor today. He's going to enroll soon, but today would it be okay if he just goes to class with me to see how the schedule works?" she asked.

"Sure, he just has to fill this out and get a visitor name tag to wear."

The secretary pushed papers around on her desk before producing a sheet and setting it on the desk along with a name tag.

"Pens are in that cup," she said pointing.

I took a random pen from the cup and began filling out the paper. When I finished I handed it back to the secretary.

"Thank you, Mr. Parker."

With a nod to her I placed the name tag on my shirt, then followed MJ back into the school hall. First period was chemistry, which was a good way to start what would be a bad day. The teacher fell in love with me and my extensive knowledge of science. Second period was history, of which I had basically no knowledge. Third period was geometry, which I could have slept through if I so wanted. Fourth period was English, which was awkward to say the least. The teacher decided to go ahead and get me started on the paper that she assigned to the class so that when I did enroll I wouldn't be behind in her class. What was the paper about? What had happened so far in your lifetime. I tried to explain to her that I had amnesia, and she in return asked if I had remembered anything. Me being stupid, I told her I had. In return she told me to write that down.

Naturally.

The rest of the day went by without anything of interest, unless you count PE. MJ had pointed me towards her friend Ian that we had met at the hospital and told me to see if he had any extra clothes to change out. So I went over to him and asked.

"Sure. Your name's Peter, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"How're your burns doing? Bet they still hurt like crap, huh?"

"Actually they don't hurt as bad as you'd think. Thanks for the clothes, Ian."

"No problem. Any friend of MJ's is a friend of mine."

By that time, Ian and I were the only ones left in the locker room. I dropped the borrowed clothes on one of the benches, then pulled my shirt off.

"Woah, dude, what're those bumps on your sides?" Ian asked.

I looked down and saw what he was looking at. Those two pairs of symmetrical bumps I had felt at the hospital. I opened my mouth to say that they were nothing when a sharp pain stabbed my sides. I gasped and bent over, clutching my sides. Ian ran over to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I couldn't speak. The skin beneath my fingers was moving and shifting. I could feel bones forming and altering.

"Peter, I can't help if you don't tell me what's happening."

_"What's wrong with him?!" _

_"I don't know! The DNA we introduced must be trying to override his human DNA and add more arachnid characteristics than we anticipated." _

_"Then formulate a serum that counteracts that part of the arachnid DNA, even if just temporarily until we can find a solution. Now!" _

The pain stopped suddenly along with the memory. My skin and bones stopped shifting and moving. I took a deep breath and slowly pushed myself off the ground. Before Ian could begin questioning me, which I could only guess he would, I put my shirt on and shoved his clothes back into his arms.

"Thanks, but I'm not going to PE today," I said.

Then I was out of the locker room and heading to MJ's car.


End file.
